High School Basketball Weathers the Storm

For the first time ever the New York State Public High School Athletic Association held its boys basketball championship tournament in Binghamton.

For the past 36 years the event had been in Glens Falls.  Broome County and the City of Binghamton teamed up to lure the tournament to the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena and it proved to be an outstanding weekend of competition.

After 36 consecutive years in Glens Falls staff and volunteers here were under pressure to pull off a virtually flawless three days.  The product was delivered in fine fashion.  Everyone knew the competition would be excellent and after a record-setting snowfall buried the area the attendance was very impressive. Our area effectively weathered the storm.  Many of the participating teams brought large contingents of fans.

As good as the tournament was and as well as it was run even the most severe critics would be hard-pressed to find any major problems or issues.  A major tip of the hat has to go to the police and auxiliary police who helped guide visitors safely to and from the Floyd L Maines Veterans Memorial Arena.  In addition the countless members of the snow removal teams around the downtown Binghamton area deserve a huge amount of credit.  Working around the clock on Thursday and Friday they were able to open walkways, clear sidewalks and remove tons of snow from the area around the Arena.

The contract to hold the tournament in Binghamton is for three years and extends for at lease the next two seasons.  Hard work paid off and despite close to three feet of snow to deal with the tournament came off as a smashing success.